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Fermented Lemons: How to Preserve Lemons with Salt

These fermented lemons are easy to make at home! They will add brightness, tang, and flavor to everything from your salad dressing to stews, tagines, smoothies, and more!
Prep Time15 minutes
Fermentation time45 days
Total Time45 days 15 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Middle Eastren,, Morrocan
Keyword: Fermented Lemons, Preserved lemons
Servings: 20

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 10 Lemons large
  • 1/2 cup Lemon Juice freshly suezzed
  • 3/4 cup Salt
  • 2 Cinnamon stick optional
  • 2 Bay leaf optional
  • Chili pepper dried and optional

Instructions

  • Wash and scrub the lemons so they will be clean. Cut the top and bottom of the whole lemon by about ¼ inch off on each end. Slice the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Ensure you don't slice completely through so they can stay connected at the base.
    Open the lemons and put a teaspoon of salt in the flesh. Place one tablespoon of salt on the bottom of a 1-quart jar or in a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid.
    Pack the lemons into the jar tightly using a wood muddler, but you can also do it by hand if you don't have it. Press the lemons down to release their juices, add salt, add more lemons, and press them again until they emerge in their juice - lemon juice brine). You can also squeeze fresh lemon juice and set it aside in case you need to add more juice.
    You can add a fermentation weight on top of the jar to keep the lemons submerged while they ferment, but it is not necessary if you do an excellent job of pressing the lemons down.
    They should ferment at room temperature for 3-4 weeks. You will know the lemons are fermenting when you see air bubbles in the jar. Within the first two weeks, you should occasionally turn the jar upside down to ensure the juice is distributed to all lemons.
    The lemons will become soft and mellow as they sit in the brine.
    You will know if the lemons are ready when they soften and the pith loses bitterness.
    Don't forget to burp the jar occasionally during the preserving process, especially during the first two weeks.
    After fermenting for several weeks, taste lemons to see if they are soft to know if they are ready to sue. You will see if they are ready when soft and there is no more detectable bitterness.